andrew wrote:I've never seen anything, ever, to suggest Ueshiba was a renowned martial artist at this point. He trained for 20(?) years in the Daito Ryu. When his Omoto-kyó mentor (Onaisaburo?) persuaded him to open a dojo and give classes he began to build a reputation. Many years after meeting Takeda.

He trained sumo and kenjutsu before even meeting Takeda.

Actually, according to most well researched historians (Stanley Pranin), O Sensei only dabbled in one or two other jujutsu (Tenshin Shinyo ryu and Yagyu ryu) styles and a little judo before beginning his study of daito ryu. This has been confirmed in interviews with the late Doshu Kisshomaru Ueshiba. See the interview with Stanley Pranin at this thread: